How to create purpose from passion as a Chevener

As a Chevening Alumnus, you will already know that purpose is a key resource to help you create and lead social change. It is a tool that motivates us, and which can be used to guide and influence the actions of others. That means it is important to find a way to understand and define it, in order to help us increase our impact in the world.

Purpose is often held up as something that is almost too noble to define – but the reality is that we can work out our purpose by asking ourselves four simple questions:

1. What can we sustain?

This is all about resources that underpin our sense of purpose. At an individual purpose level, the most simple question to ask yourself is “what can I be paid to do?”. This might feel crude – but the reality is that a purpose without resources behind it cannot succeed.

2. What can we do?

This building block helps us to think about what we are good at now, and what skills we need to learn to achieve our purpose. This is important because purpose can only be made real by what we can actually do – we may not be able to do it right now, but at least you need to understand what you need to learn to achieve your goal.

3. What does the world need?

It is critically important that our purpose is informed by what the world needs. This has to be grounded in evidence and common understanding, otherwise your purpose might be disconnected from the needs of the community or society that you are trying to serve.

4. What do we want to do?

To fulfil a purpose it is important to make sure that we want to achieve what we set out to do, not just because we think we ‘ought’ to. At an individual purpose level this would be described as ‘what I love to do’.

The difference between purpose and passion

When steps two and four intersect, we find our passion – this is not only something that we are motivated to achieve, but that we have the ability to make happen.

When all four steps overlap, we know we have a purpose: we want to do something, we are able to do it, the world needs us to do it, and we can sustain ourselves to complete it.

Gaps in purpose become noticeable when one of these four steps is missing:

• Without ‘what the world needs’: actions may be well-resourced but are inherently useless
• Without ‘what we can do’: action and motivation are there, but the plan would not have much chance of success
• Without ‘what we can sustain’: there is an ongoing sense of doubt about how to ensure lasting results
• Without ‘what we want’: there will be difficulty finding a direction, even in the face of an objectively successful strategy

As you continue to make an impact in the world as a Chevening Alumnus, make sure to keep your passion and your purpose in mind by asking yourself the four questions outlined in this article. If you can answer all four confidently, you are well on your way to making the difference you want to see in your community and the wider world.